


Cruel Summer

by Jbee



Series: Gates of Askr: Year One [29]
Category: Fire Emblem Heroes, Fire Emblem Series
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-14
Updated: 2020-07-14
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:47:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25247893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jbee/pseuds/Jbee
Summary: What was going to be a relaxing afternoon in the sun has turned into a day Kiran won't soon forget while she gets stuck with babysitting duties.
Relationships: Chiki | Tiki/Summoner | Eclat | Kiran
Series: Gates of Askr: Year One [29]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1703545
Kudos: 1





	Cruel Summer

**Author's Note:**

> This series is a collection of short stories driven by the FEH Subreddit Weekly Writing Prompts, July 13, 2020. "Kiran is tasked to be the Order's babysitter for the day."

  
  
“So what types of songs did you sing in your choir lectures professor?” Tsubasa sweetly asked, sitting on the edge of the floating swimming platform, shoulder to shoulder between Sakura and Kiran, their legs lazily submerged in the ocean.

Byleth griped the sides of the ladder, pulling himself out of the water, “I’m afraid it was nothing like the songs you are accustom to.” He laughed, “There’s nothing like your popular music in my home world I’m afraid. Perhaps someday you can perform in Fódlan?”

Tsubasa blushed, looking down and away, trying to hide her smile, as the other two women giggled at her. The platform swayed gently over the waves, rocking the heroes while they relaxed near the tempest vortex.

“Alright, time to go.” Ranulf interrupted the group, a groan of disappointment escaped the ladies together, “Grab your equipment and swim on over.”

Tsubasa and Sakura helped each other up, splashing water over the wood planks and joined Byleth, gathering their weapons and armor from the equipment chest in the middle of the platform.

Little Tiki happily skipped over to join them, grabbing a large beach ball that she had brought from shore holding it above her head. “I love my ball!” she smiled with every intention of bringing the inflatable item with her to the trials.

“Sorry kiddo, not this time.” Ranulf told the young manakete, turning to Kiran sitting on the edge of the platform still. “Can you watch Tiki while we’re in the trials?”

“Me?!” Kiran exclaimed, she was planning to spend the time they were away to lounge around on a towel while drifting along, not babysitting a small dragon. “Oh, hey look! It’s fallen Lyon, maybe we can ask him!”

Ranulf crossed his arms and furrowed his brows, “Even you know that’s a bad idea.” He offered his hand to help the summoner to her feet, “We won’t be long, a couple of hours’ tops, I promise!”

“Fine.” Kiran agreed while pouting, looking over at Tiki, who was trying to crack open a clam by gnawing on it with her teeth. “But it’s not my fault if she eats a jellyfish…”

“You’ll be okay.” Ranulf laughed, diving into the water to join the other heroes, swimming over and disappearing into the swirling clouds of the vortex. Tiki gasped when she noticed the heroes swimming over without her, throwing the clam away and running across the platform, trying to catch up.

“Oh no you don’t.” Kiran grabbed the small manakete by the arm before she made it to the edge. She pulled Tiki back over to the chest picking up a brightly coloured inner tube and pulling it over the manakete’s head. “Here Tiki, you can go swimming as long as you’re wearing this, and we’re just going to tie this rope to the side here so you don’t get lost.” Kiran explained, wrapping the rope around the inner tube and tying the other end to the ladder on the platform. “There you go!” she proudly said, pushing the small dragon child into the ocean. “Have fun!”

Kiran rolled out a towel near the edge of the platform, stretching out along it to keep an eye on the swimming manakete. She closed her eyes enjoying the warmth of the sun, listening to Tiki laugh and splash around in the water, chasing fish and other marine life that dared to swim to close to the platform.

“Kiiiiran, I can’t swim any further…” Tiki cried out, frivolously splashing. She had reached the end of her rope, and was swimming hard in one place trying to reach her goal.

“You’re doing great dear!” Kiran responded without looking up, going back to ignoring the girl and enjoying her afternoon. The summoner inhaled the fresh ocean air and sighed in satisfaction, the waves rocking the platform up and down, the sound of water sloshing as it splashed through the wooden planks and creaking of metal rivets that held the structure together, lulling her almost to sleep. she was grateful for the peace and quiet.

Kiran rolled over on to her stomach, turning her head to the side. The rock formation along the shore drifted past her, “We’re moving?” she sleepily raised an eyebrow, and lifted her head up, propping up her upper body with her arms. “We’re moving!” she cried out, looking over to see the little manakete swimming with all her might towards the vortex, pulling the platform behind her. “No!” she called out, “Tiki stop!”

Scrambling to her feet, Kiran grabbed the rope tied to the ladder and yanked it towards her, falling flat on her behind as the rope became slack. She was too late, Tiki had reached the vortex and disappeared within the smoke. Kiran’s eye grew wide, as the platform drifted with the extra momentum, inching closer and closer to the swirling sides of the vortex. “Oh no…”

Kiran darted towards the chest in the middle of the platform to grab her own equipment, looking back to see the edge of the platform slide into the menacing wall that was quickly coming towards her. She huffed in frustration looking for her tome, frantically rummaging through the items in the chest, only to find the leather strap of Breidablik’s holster, pulling it from the chest just as the vortex engulfed the platform with her on it. Kiran tightly shut her eyes, as she felt the dense, moist vapors wash over her. It felt like the world had fallen away beneath her feet, and in a flash she was no longer on the floating platform but knelt on sandy beach shore.

Pushing herself to her feet and wrapping Breidablik’s belt around her waist she looked along the beach line, surveying the area. It looked like their beach, but empty. All the heroes, and their encampment gone, making it eerily quiet. Kiran hated going in the tempest vortex, it always made her feel uneasy.

Alfonse explained it as “worlds upon worlds,” a realm for battling, rich with rewards. A realm outside of their Zenith, and layered with many others. She had hardly believed him until she stepped foot into the vortex for the first time. She could feel them here, sometimes out of the corner of her eye she could see wisps of shadows, heroes battling in their own vortex realms. They never interacted with each other but they were all here. Every hero that was a member of their Order and any hero that could become a member. Another reason why Kiran disliked coming here. Facing off against opponents that she was familiar with, she knew they weren’t her friends, but she still struggled with her emotions when she had to watch them be brutally put down time and time again. She wondered if the other summoners felt the same way?

Kiran walked towards a low stone wall at the edge of the beach, “Tiki shouldn’t have gotten too far…” she pressed her lips together and sighed. Lifting herself up onto the wall and swinging her legs over. She squinted her eyes, looking down the stony path way. Tropical plants and palm trees obstructing her view. Kiran froze, a few of plants began to rustle, and she slowly backed up towards the wall. She didn’t have her tome and was not ready to be here. She was no better than a sitting duck being only armed with a weapon she had not quite learned to use on her own yet.

She held her breath as the bushes started to rustle, something large was moving through them and Kiran gasped at the sight of a large golden a dragon, pushing its way through the foliage. The dragon let out a deafening roar causing Kiran to wince covering her ears from the noise. She sighed in relief when the dragon continued past her, it was just Tiki. Kiran reached out to calm the manakete down, to try and persuade the dragon to transform back into her small humanoid form, “Tiki it’s just me…”

The fizzling sound of magic caught Kiran’s attention, and she turned to see a young woman she had never met before, her light violet hair, and white flowing dress blowing in the wind. She held out a red and gold tome and casted a spell in Tiki’s direction. The manakete cried out in retaliation, and Kiran had to shield her eyes as the dragon launched her divine mist towards the unknown mage, trying to retreat back into the bushes, only to be cut off by their foe.

Tiki whimpered and Kiran noticed that the manakete’s breathing had become labored. There was no chance that she could survive a second attack from the mage who continued to advance on them. Kiran reached for Breidablik at her side, pulling it from its holster, and pointing it at the mage who had her attention set on Tiki. She held her breath, the only time the ancient weapon had worked was when she was in mortal danger. Kirna had never been able to wield the summoner’s weapon to her will outside of the summoning circle. She closed her eyes and tried to focus her thoughts, just like Soren taught her when using a tome.

Kiran cleared her mind, opening her eyes, and pulling the trigger. She felt a familiar rush of energy flow through Breidablik and into her body. Her eyes widen as the barrel of her weapon lit up with white light, and a charge of magic blasted towards the mage, who only had a split second to realize what was happening before being incinerated by the white electrical light. She yelped as the force from the blast knocked her back, slamming her against the stone wall along the path.

“Kiiiran!” Tiki wailed, running up to the summoner slumped over on the path. The small manakete dropped to her knees and began shaking her by the shoulders to wake her up.

Kiran groaned and gasped, trying to regain the air that was knocked out of her, “I’m okay, I’m okay.” She told Tiki, trying to reassure her, looking up to see a scorched path of destruction cutting through the landscape in front of where she had been standing. With Tiki’s help Kiran pushed herself to her feet, she could feel her hands shaking as she slid Breidablik back into its holster, “We should get out of here.” She said as she grabbed the manakete’s hand and dragged her back towards the beach.

* * *

“BOOM!” Tiki exclaimed throwing her hands in the air, almost falling backward off the chest she was sitting on. The two of them had made it out of the vortex and managed to move the swimming platform back to their original location. “It was so pretty too! Sparkles and colours! Then BOOM!” she continued to described what she had witnessed on the path earlier.

“Hey, why don’t we keep what happened between you and me?” Kiran crouched down making eye contact with Tiki. “I will even make you two s’mores for dessert tonight!” she winked holding up two fingers.

The small manakete’s face beamed with happiness, “Okay!” she squealed, licking her lips and kicking her small feet against the side of the chest. “But why don’t you want anyone to know?” a thoughtful look of concern replacing the one of joy on her small face, a rare glimpse into the manakete’s true age.

Kiran looked away, slumping her shoulders forward, remembering the power that had come out of Breidablik that afternoon. It was more than what she could handle. Kiran was happy she was finally able to use the ancient weapon on her own, but the immense destruction it left behind scared her. Someone could have seriously been hurt. She wasn’t sure if she ever wanted to use Breidablik like that again and she knew the other heroes wouldn’t understand her prospective if they found out what happened.

“It’s just that if the other heroes knew, even Alfonse, everything would change. I might not get to spend as much time with you and the other heroes. It could be dangerous.” Kiran tried to come up with an explanation that would keep Tiki quiet. “You don’t want things to change, do you?”

“No! Please don’t leave me!” Tiki cried, “I won’t tell anyone.”

“Good!” Kiran stood up, and smiled, “Now how about we go get some shaved ice?” she decided that it would be best to keep the small manakete close for the time being. Just until the excitement over what happened faded into a distant memory, she might even be able to convince Tiki it was all just a crazy dream.

Tiki cheered again, hopping down from the chest, and taking a running start, jumping off the platform into the ocean. The smile on Kiran’s face faded and she touched Breidablik at her side. Wielding it was something she wanted so much, but now she wasn’t so sure. It wasn’t like Stone, she felt so out of control of its power. She removed the belt from her waist and place the weapon back in the chest, it felt like a weight had been lifted off of her.

Kiran looked over to see Tiki Laughing and waving for her to come join. This is what’s best for me, she told herself, “Wait up Tiki!” she called out as she cannon-balled off the platform, maybe it’s best for everyone.

End.


End file.
